Does Report a Poacher actually work?

[HighRiver]

This past weekend I was fishing a southern reservoir and noticed a group of individuals that, for the last 15 years, have been taking way way too many whitefish from lake McGregor. I pulled over and called the report a poacher line and gave all the info. We decided to fish nearby and see what would come of it.
Being a Filipina, my wife picked up the language of these guys while she lived on the mainland of Asia. Anyhoo, she got to talking with them and they basically said they don't give a flying ***** about the rules because the lake has way too many fish in it. I got closer to where they were fishing after they made nice to me and my wife. I tossed on a huge spoon hoping to attract in a pike to scare away their whitefish.
After 2 hours of waiting around without any authorities showing up we made our way back to our truck where we ate and did nothing for another 45 to 60 minutes. Still no police/game warden.
Does it actually make sense to call this report a poacher line or is it ignored?

[Pincherguy]

I don't know how many there are now but a couple of years ago there only 67 officers in the whole of Alberta. I am good friends with one of these guys so I believe it is true. I think you should have license numbers,date etc. for them to investigate. I don't think these turds would have thrown the fish away. Pictures would also help these officers. Good on you for reporting it though.

[HighRiver]

Seriously just 67 in all of Alberta? Wow that's a shame.

[zabbo]

It does work! I called once on fellow using bait in the Bow. Officer called me just as I was leaving. Told him the story, gave a description, the officer called back a few days later said he charge the guy and had a reward for me.
:sHa_shakeshout:

[gl2]

do you get a call from the officer after you talk to the person at report a poacher?

[tacklerunner]

Yes it works. I assure you the COs were dealing with other crimes if they couldn't respond that quickly. Or some may be on vacation. It's their right as well. We do not have nearly enough officers in the province. Starting with double the amount would help. As would a pay increase to make it a more sought after career choice. But that's the price we pay for prioritzed (I use that word loosely) government expenditures.

Remember, we are a small (& considered silent) group. Keep making the calls. All information is kept on file and one day... They will be caught. Just takes persistence on our part.

[HighRiver]

I know little about how the law is enforced. Do the RCMP or other police forces get involved with these types of calls or is it just Fish and Wildlife?
I used to work in the oilfield, I have a small idea where the PC government prioritizes spending.

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

Yes it does work and works well . Just because you dont get an instant call back from a Fish and Wildlife officer means that they are busy . And perhaps depending on your information may not be worth there while in comeing out .
Very few officer for lots of people . You may be able to call be and do a follow up call .IF you are concerned .

[gl2]

I am confused. Every time i have called F@W i have received a call back from the officer in charge of that area. He then gets the directions and description and tells me how long he is going to be. Does this not happen when you call? It has worked every time for me.

[0liver]

RAP dose work. It is just seriously understaffed. Make the call. Get as much information as you can, and believe me.. they will be braught to justice.

A great example is whitemud creek up here in edmonton. For the longest time nothing was done about the out-of-control poaching that was going on.. After enough phone calls [some from myself, and other fellow outdoorsmen] they started to crack down. I have witnessed atleast 3 groups being caught. They lost their gear, their liscences, and were all a couple hundred bucks lighter after all was said and done. One dude even got his tan-coloured van impounded for transporting illegal fish to market. [they were selling walleye and suckers to fish markets here in edmonton]

It is unfortunate that your call was unanswered, but persitance is the key. It will be flagged as a problem area if it gets enough attention and will be delt with accordingly.


-Oliver

[HighRiver]

My wife and I are fairly certain there is an illegal fish trade going on in Calgary. She frequents the China town markets and can speak fluently 3 languages from the far east. I find it odd that Calgary police have not cracked down on it.

[0liver]

I agree. It is a wide spread problem up here, and its only getting worse.

keep calling, and eventually justice will be served.

glad to see your not just looking the other way. Lots of people do, only to turn around and ask why alot of watersheds out west are collapsing. Poaching isn't the only problem, mismanagement of resources is also partly to blame.

I'm going to shut my big mouth now. :)

-Oliver

[jacenbeers]

3 weeks ago I reported two poachers keeping short pike on the dam at McGregor Lake. The officer who called me advised that he could not get there because he was on a boat dealing with another situation but that another officer would call me. Ten minutes later I got a call from a lady in Calgary who want the plates of the offendors. She staked out their home and busted them with the short fish when they came back. I was advised of a number to call and collect my reward.

[ReconWilly]

My wife and I are fairly certain there is an illegal fish trade going on in Calgary. She frequents the China town markets and can speak fluently 3 languages from the far east. I find it odd that Calgary police have not cracked down on it.

Gather all of the information you can and report your suspensions to RAP and the Calgary PD and they will have little choice other than to launch an investigation, these are faaaaaarrrrr more serious charges than just poaching, they call it organised crime for a reason, these warts of society are likely marketing more than just illegally harvested fish, who knows what els these kinds of people are up to?

Make a call and maybe you'll save more than just a few illegally harvested fish.

Thanks for doing your part, my Canada has no room for poachers.period.

[Kim473]

I know little about how the law is enforced. Do the RCMP or other police forces get involved with these types of calls or is it just Fish and Wildlife?
I used to work in the oilfield, I have a small idea where the PC government prioritizes spending.

The RCMP do get involved somewhat. Years back when Hastings was flooded with, here goes it. ( gonna get it this time )

Asians! And other white groups! Black groups, red groups, etc... The RCMP were there alot. They even had a boat on the water once that I saw, and there is no public boat launch there.

[hal53]

Hard to believe that with their constant budget slashing, RAP still offers rewards for doing what is right as an outdoors person, I hope everyone turns them back, so the officer gets another tank of fuel to carry on....????

[Kim473]

My wife and I are fairly certain there is an illegal fish trade going on in Calgary. She frequents the China town markets and can speak fluently 3 languages from the far east. I find it odd that Calgary police have not cracked down on it.

I would bet that most famaily run Chinese,Korean, etc... resturants, serve fish in their food that is caught by them selfs in local lakes.

[tacklerunner]

3 weeks ago I reported two poachers keeping short pike on the dam at McGregor Lake. The officer who called me advised that he could not get there because he was on a boat dealing with another situation but that another officer would call me. Ten minutes later I got a call from a lady in Calgary who want the plates of the offendors. She staked out their home and busted them with the short fish when they came back. I was advised of a number to call and collect my reward.

Had dealings with the same gal. She's a go-getter. Goes straight to their house & sometimes drives by daily at the beginning or end of her shift just to make her presence known. She's what makes calling worth while.

I would bet that most famaily run Chinese,Korean, etc... resturants, serve fish in their food that is caught by them selfs in local lakes.

Not gonna say I agree or disagree but this thread can go sideways with the Azn comments. No disrespect as I think you're a solid contributor to AO & can't say I've ever disagreed with you. Just sayin.

[BeeGuy]

I would bet that most famaily run Chinese,Korean, etc... resturants, serve fish in their food that is caught by them selfs in local lakes.

Bahahahaaha

[BeeGuy]

I would bet that most famaily run Chinese,Korean, etc... resturants, serve fish in their food that is caught by them selfs in local lakes.

Using that reasoning, I guess I'm to assume that Caucasian run steak houses all serve good'ol whiteboy poached big game.

I'd be ashamed of making a comment like that, but hey, everyone has their prejudices.

[Nait Hadya]

SEROIUSLY,don't waste your time or put your life or that of your family in jeopardy. you will get a promise from the officer that he will come down hard on any retaliation,UNTIL he gets transfered,duh....let them do their own dam job, if they can't, hire someone that will,someone that perfers not to become a puppet.

[Big Daddy Badger]

SEROIUSLY,don't waste your time or put your life or that of your family in jeopardy. you will get a promise from the officer that he will come down hard on any retaliation,UNTIL he gets transfered,duh....let them do their own dam job, if they can't, hire someone that will,someone that perfers not to become a puppet.

All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.
Edmund Burke

Red Deer is so fortunate to have citizens like you that really understand what community means and what our responsibilities to each other and society are.
Bravo!!!

[Dust1n]

My first successful bust was at Lower K. But there has been countless times of which they never were able to make it for some reason and when they do they are very slow. Get the number of a F&W officer and not RAP, the guy at k lakes said if i call his personal number he could be anywhere on K lakes within 20 minutes unforunatly he was off and the info was transfered to another officer and showed up almost 2 hours later but at least they came through.
She came back to us at the truck and said they were all fined for barbs. and could be fined for bait usage with the pictures we sent in with the "Bait Box" and worms i captured on there Pickeral rigs. Court date is set for late fall and i cant wait.

[BeeGuy]

My first successful bust was at Lower K. But there has been countless times of which they never were able to make it for some reason and when they do they are very slow. Get the number of a F&W officer and not RAP, the guy at k lakes said if i call his personal number he could be anywhere on K lakes within 20 minutes unforunatly he was off and the info was transfered to another officer and showed up almost 2 hours later but at least they came through.
She came back to us at the truck and said they were all fined for barbs. and could be fined for bait usage with the pictures we sent in with the "Bait Box" and worms i captured on there Pickeral rigs. Court date is set for late fall and i cant wait.

p-rigs at k-lakes?

that is just ridiculous

good job

[avb3]

Hard to believe that with their constant budget slashing, RAP still offers rewards for doing what is right as an outdoors person, I hope everyone turns them back, so the officer gets another tank of fuel to carry on....????

RAP funds are handled by the ACA and come out of your license check off to them. If it was still with government, it would probably be gone, like the rest of F&W.

[ak-71]

Had dealings with the same gal. She's a go-getter. Goes straight to their house & sometimes drives by daily at the beginning or end of her shift just to make her presence known. She's what makes calling worth while.



Not gonna say I agree or disagree but this thread can go sideways with the Azn comments. No disrespect as I think you're a solid contributor to AO & can't say I've ever disagreed with you. Just sayin.

Azn and east Eu comments make me sad.
I am Russian born in the Asian part of the country. Perhaps with my heritage I should just give up on following the regulations.
Unless I realize that these comments came from a Canadian and too much beer makes rednecks say stupid things. Eh?

(BTW where do you buy a dynamite in this country? - fishing has been really slow for me lately, I am even willing to go lighter on my vodka for couple hours to resemble my DL photo if it's necessary for the purchase)

[ishootbambi]

Hard to believe that with their constant budget slashing, RAP still offers rewards for doing what is right as an outdoors person, I hope everyone turns them back, so the officer gets another tank of fuel to carry on....????

RAP works very well when the caller gets all the info. a half arsed attempt isnt going to do much....and pictures are absolute gold. for example, a call saying you saw someone keeping too many fish with no license plate to go from, or no solid description of where exactly you saw someone shoot out a window or dump a buck too small in the weeds etc will get a follow up....but with no hard proof, its pretty tough for an officer to get anywhere with things. now get a plate and better yet some pics to go with it, or at least a solid visual description of a face and some evidence left behind and you will see some justice in action.

i recently received my 3rd reward check for solid information leading to convictions. the program actually prefers that you accept the reward as (at least how it was explained to me) it runs on donations, and the donating parties prefer to see the system working and are encouraged to keep it going. not everyone needs the monetary encouragement to do what is right, but it does certainly make some people more willing to get involved. personally, my rewards have all been donated to worthy outdoor groups.

[waterninja]

when you call rap you are calling a central switchboard. they deal with drunks or rowdys in parks, a forest fire alert, someone picking berries, big game poaching, a broken pipeline, overfishing, atv abuses, wake complaints and on and on and on. it's important to have as much info. as possible so they can prioritize. i'm sure their doing their best.

[Penner]

RAP does indeed work! I reported 2 incidents over the past few years and a got a call back thanking me and telling me there was a reward ready for me. Pretty cool in my books.

CO’s are underfunded and understaffed for the amount of people in this province. We can do our part in being the “eyes” and “ears” for them protecting our resource.

[retten]

Get all the info you can.Lic #, vehicle color, make, model what the occupants look like how many, it is up to us to fill the void of these over worked officers.

Slave river two years ago I got involved helped with all the info stated above and even had the chance to carry out some surveillance he got spanked hard with his 60 + overage on walleye, if you supply the info they will visit these low lives where they live and give them what they deserve.

[skidderman]

Although it is easy to target people by where they come from I also know of some locals that would outdo them by miles. I wish they would get caught but they seem to out smart the system.

[QIsley]

RAP does work, however there is not enough officers to respond to all the calls, 109 field officers in Alberta in 2010, currently there is 98. There is a competition out so there will be a few more by December after the Academy is over, hopefully enough recruits to cover the retirements......

There was 114 Fish and Wildlife officers in Alberta in 1986, 98 today!

Control Center is 24-7 they pass the calls on to the nearest officer working or the nearest officer on standby, sometimes there is not an officer available within 2-3 hours.

http://westerncanadiangamewarden.com/officers.html

Without the calls and information provided many poachers would not get caught. Keep calling :)

Q

[BBJTKLE&FISHINGADVENTURES]

RAP does work, however there is not enough officers to respond to all the calls, 109 field officers in Alberta in 2010, currently there is 98. There is a competition out so there will be a few more by December after the Academy is over, hopefully enough recruits to cover the retirements......

There was 114 Fish and Wildlife officers in Alberta in 1986, 98 today!

Control Center is 24-7 they pass the calls on to the nearest officer working or the nearest officer on standby, sometimes there is not an officer available within 2-3 hours.

http://westerncanadiangamewarden.com/officers.html

Without the calls and information provided many poachers would not get caught. Keep calling :)

Q

I really enjoyed that article when I first read , it really puts things into to perspective as far as protection and enforcement goes . SAD .

[Rascal4now]

Wow! One of the reasons i love this site. I had no idea about the F&W officer shortage. I followed a link to the magazine and bought a subscription. Least I can do a little bit. Thanks for the great posts and information

[e40water12]

Its does work, They caught 8 foreigners no fishing lic, not following by catch amount limits. there are still people scamming, But they patrol a lot more.

[bloopbloob]

It does! Have the number in my phone contacts. Only called it once, but won't hesitate to do so again. Saw a guy fishing with a bait under a bobber on one line, and casting with another. Hesitated for a bit, but decided to confront him politely, just said "excuse me, but do you know that you can't fish with 2 lines, it's illegal." he responded with: who are you?.... Blah blah... And i've always fished like this, so F off. Made it an Easy decision to call Rap. I walked away, took some pictures and licence plate. F&W took about an hour to show up, guy had been spooked by me and pulled one line in, but F&W still gave me a call back after to thank me, told me they knew he was lying but couldnt do much then, but he'd be on file now. If nobody calls, everyone thinks they can get away with it. Next time they will know he's a repeat offender at least. And I really appreciate the follow up call. Makes you feel like you are actually making a difference. Wish the police would do the same when you report a crime....

[HighRiver]

Azn and east Eu comments make me sad.
I am Russian born in the Asian part of the country. Perhaps with my heritage I should just give up on following the regulations.
Unless I realize that these comments came from a Canadian and too much beer makes rednecks say stupid things. Eh?

(BTW where do you buy a dynamite in this country? - fishing has been really slow for me lately, I am even willing to go lighter on my vodka for couple hours to resemble my DL photo if it's necessary for the purchase)

I frequently fish with a Russian friend from Kazahkstan, he does not fit any of the stereo types you put forth about yourself and fellow eastern Europeans. I am orginally from Denmark, and I don't fish the Bow from a drift boat. I get Helga to row the viking longboat.
At first Canadian laws seemed way too relaxed compared to Scandinavian fresh water laws. I did not start this thread to make it a racist rant. Other posters have merely pointed out that it is common for newcomers to Canada to follow old country tradition and "forget" Canadian law. My wife also comes from Asia and I understand their mentality of the fish belonging to nature not some licensing system, but the law is the law and if they choose to violate it, I shall report it.